Thomas vs. Brown

[Garthshort]

Just about all the draft "experts" have Thomas #1 and Brown #2 in the evaluation of OT's. Much like last year when Ferguson was #1 and McNeill was #2 or #3. And while Ferguson had a pretty good year, McNeill went to the Pro Bowl. Walter has come out and said that he prefers Brown and he's based his opinion on having watched a LOT of tape. Of the posters who have seen a lot of both players, where do you stand? I'd like to know and I'm sure there are others who would like to know as well. We haven't heard from Harry in some time but this might be a busy time of year for him. I'd appreciate any comments. Also, the experts evaluations might be based, in part, on a herd mentality.

 

[Shogun]

D'Brick and McNeil don't fit this situation because Thomas nor Brown have medical red flags.

With that said, I thought Thomas is much better than Brown and one Senior Bowl peformance isn't going to change that. Brown has all the physical aspects, but Thomas is a gamer, more athletic and technically sound. Brown isn't a better blocker than him, he's just a mauler. He's a better overall prospect than D'Brick of last year in my opinion and is a LEGIT left tackle prospect, while Brown is more of a RT.

 

[OldDirtMcGirt]

D'Brick and McNeil don't fit this situation because Thomas nor Brown have medical red flags.

With that said, I thought Thomas is much better than Brown and one Senior Bowl peformance isn't going to change that. Brown has all the physical aspects, but Thomas is a gamer, more athletic and technically sound. Brown isn't a better blocker than him, he's just a mauler. He's a better overall prospect than D'Brick of last year in my opinion and is a LEGIT left tackle prospect, while Brown is more of a RT.

Pretty much. The only reason that McNeil lasted to the second round is that he'll probably be out of the league in five years due to his back problems. Thomas is really worlds ahead of Brown in every category besides size.

 

[General Chaos]

From the highlights I've seen it just looks like Brown is more dominant. I watched a few Wisc. games and the announcers would keep saying how good Thomas was but I never saw that he was all that dominant. At the same time though Gallery looked like an absolute stud coming out and well he hasn't been.

 

[PrescottLooie]

Garthshort, I have not seen Brown and I've only seen Thomas in the Bowl game and he handled the DE with EASE. I only watched part of the game and Wisconson didn't have many running plays during the time that I watched, but in the passing game Thomas was very impressive.

 

[Skkorpion]

Levi Brown was completely ineffective against a mediocre Notre Dame defensive line this year. That's the only time I noticed him.

I saw two other Penn State games but don't remember seeing Brown do anything, good or bad.

 

[MadCardDisease]

Both of these guys are slated to be Left Tackles.

I watched Thomas at the Combine and he looked really impressive. He had quick feet and amazing balance for a big guy. IMO those are great qualities for a OT.

Brown looks the part and is intelligent but didn't look as fluid as Thomas in the drills. I didn't watch Brown in the Senior bowl but Mitch says he had a solid performace.

I still think that Thomas projects slightly better and is more of a sure thing. However Brown would be a solid pick in the 9-13 range if the Cards think about moving back a few spots.

 

[Diamondback Jay]

The closest thing to a medical red flag Thomas has is his knee, being he's just one year removed from suffering a major injury.

 

[BACH]

Brown is slated in as a LT by most experts. Brown should be able to play LT here, especially because LT is our frontside, which means his job gets a bit easier here than on other teams.

He'll still face the opponents' best pass rusher, but at the same time, Leinart will be able to adjust to that rush and the TE lining up next to the LT slows the DE. Based on that there shouldn't IMO be any question about Brown's ability to play LT for us.

Brown could because of our mirrored OL and his size be a better fit for us. Thomas is still the better prospect, though.

 

[General Chaos]

One knock on Thomas is that he has relatively short arms, which mean defensive linemen can get up into his pads and move him. The best tackles have really long arms to keep defenders at bay.

 

[joeshmo]

One knock on Thomas is that he has relatively short arms, which mean defensive linemen can get up into his pads and move him. The best tackles have really long arms to keep defenders at bay.

Levi Brown only has 5/8 inch longer arms then Thomas.

http://sportsline.com/nfl/players/draft/407209
http://cbs.sportsline.com/nfl/players/draft/422166

 

[perivolaki]

Levi Brown only has 5/8 inch longer arms then Thomas.

I think scouts would like Thomas to have longer arms because a lot of guys 6'7" have longer arms. It does get a little ridiculous when we start worrying about 1/2" worth of arm length.

 

[kerouac9]

From the highlights I've seen it just looks like Brown is more dominant. I watched a few Wisc. games and the announcers would keep saying how good Thomas was but I never saw that he was all that dominant. At the same time though Gallery looked like an absolute stud coming out and well he hasn't been.

It's when you don't notice an OL, especially an OLT, that you realize that he's being dominant. If he takes his guy completely out of the game while making it look easy, that's the guy you want.

I'm not really impressed with Levi Brown dominating a 6th round pick in Crowder at the Senior Bowl. The fact that no Nittany Lion is worrying about his loss is argument enough for me.

Levi Brown isn't as good as the Top 3 OL prospects in the 2006 draft.